Sunday, August 26, 2012

Jonesin' for some Jackets

SO! The Great Jacket Debate of 2012 ended with the resounding bang of big money being dropped on that famed Asos leather jacket. Perspiring brows were wiped, great sighs of relief were heaved, triumph reigned above all!

But that wasn’t the end of it.

No, for where there is a winter, there is a way! A way to battling the chill with cunningly designed and executed outerwear that is, and I’ve thrown together (the first of what might be a series of) examples of stylish cold weather protection.

Look at this jacket, its a beaut! Aside from the obvious trend appeal in the quilting, you have to take a minute to appreciate the other details that make this jacket really great. I’ve seen plenty of quilted jackets and its really the details that take them from “granny chic” to the kind of classy trendy look I like. This one features awesome shoulder and back patches, subtle matching lining along the bottoms and front, and gold zippers. Cute and relatively inexpensive, up to size UK26

I personally enjoy almost everything boyfriend. I’ve got a pair of shoulders an ox would envy so the relaxed cut and sizing of boyfriend items gives me a respite from the usual constraints of female aimed tailoring. That said, this cardigan appeals to me on more levels than just potential for comfort and good fit, it’s got an extremely cute and on-trend pattern going on. You can waltz out to any winter wonderland and wait for everyone else to get jealous. This also comes in a tribal monochrome for those of us who prefer our blacks and whites

Another manifestation of the quilted trend, coming up strong next to the New Look option. Dorothy Perkin’s incarnation comes in Navy instead of cream like the one from New Look. This jacket also has a brown trim but, instead of gold zippers, has brass looking button details and flap pockets.

This jacket, from Simply Be, has made an appearance on my wishlist already but I just felt the need to bring it back up because it is amazing. At first glance, anyone could think “oh its just a black jacket” but that’s only the first layer. It’s taken being just black to a deeper level of style that has me waxing poetical. The PU sleeves, lapel, and pocket detail send this “plain black jacket” miles up on the style meter. You’ll turn heads strutting around in this number, its got that kind of funk. Flash without being flash, clean and understated but still eyecatching. Difficult to achieve but this jacket does it.

This jacket is the kind of cute and trendy deviation from the usual in trenchcoat fare that never fails to catch my eye. I’m pretty weak to cute and deviant. I like the capelet part of it as well, that differentiates it. Nothing too crazy, but just enough detail to make it distinctive. It’s the kind of jacket you can wear for a long time and be relatively unbothered by the fluctuation of trend. Simply Be has taken a traditional trench and just tweaked it a bit and I think I really like it.

Asos never fails to make amazing an understatement and this jacket is no exception. From the moment I first lay eyes on it, I wanted to Know it and for it to Know me…biblically. No, I kid. But all jokes aside, this jacket is the serious Business. It’s reminiscent of very early childhood spent running through puddles in the full skirt pea-coat type thing your mom always forced you into…or something. Anyway, this jacket has a hood, a full skirt, and cute front details. Black it may be, but boring it is not.

Boyfriend blazers might be old hat in the Game of Jackets and Coats, but I figured that someone out there might not have glommed on to that particular mode of winter protection yet and might enjoy an option, however expensive this one is. Unlike your usual boyfriend blazer, this one from Asos is shrunken, made to fit just a little more closely to your lady lumps. That might be off putting for some of us, but its actually a good idea to have a good fitted blazer in your outerwear arsenal and this one is pretty darn decent. Simple lines and a suave black on black look make this blazer extremely versatile. Which means you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.

When I first saw this, I recoiled. I was like, Asos! What gives!? But the more I looked at it, and with a helpful visual of what it would look like on the body of someone plus size and not a model, the more I came to realize that it was the most beautiful thing ever. Of course the two-tonedness of it is a trendy detail that’s impossible to miss, and let’s not forget to give a nod to the animal friendliness of it’s fake-fur. All in all, its a jacket I wish I could shrug my (considerably expansive) shoulders into this winter. Sadly, it is sold out. Quelle Dommage! Perhaps Asos will put out another fake fur jacket in the near future? Who knows.

Last but not least we have this tribute to the rage of military trend that is making its resurgence in lady clothes this season. As far as camo-print outwear goes, I’m all set, and once I stud my bad boy to within an inch of its life, I will be styling on everyone. But this olive colored wonder still calls out to me, despite my (yet unfinished) means to military swag completion. It’s got a hood and the cut of it is cute and flattering. A drawstring at the waist ensures lady lump visibility and the eyecatching metal accents on it are icing on the top. It’s a pretty great parka and rides the line of simple and edgy comfortably. Chuck on some Docs or some destroyed denim to play up the edge or maybe some slim black pants and a neutral colored shirt for the other. Versatility is this jacket’s middle name.

SO there you have it. My spin on these 9 pieces of outdoors wear. Questions? Comments? Style concerns?